(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a ball retriever for temporarily attaching to an end of a golf club handle and the ball retriever while it is so attached to the extension member being used for retrieving a ball, such as a golf ball. When not in use, this ball retriever lies at rest in a substantially flat condition, being conveniently sized to slip into a standard breast pocket or the like.
(2) Description of the Related Art
The variety of golf ball retrievers known in the prior art can be categorized under three types. The first type generally comprises a golf ball grasping tool united with one end of a shaft that in turn has for its opposite end a handle. The second type generally comprises an attachment which contains a golf ball grasping tool. The attachment is for temporarily fitting on the end of an extension member, such as the handle/grip of a golf club when a ball is to be retrieved. The third type generally comprises a unitary golf club having a golf ball grasping tool formed into its handle.
The present invention relates to an improvement over the second of the above-mentioned types. The known retrievers of the second type are generally disadvantaged in having too much bulk. The known retrievers are generally fabricated in accordance with fixed dimensions and are ready for use as fabricated. These known retrievers when not in use, are not provided with the facility for compacting down to a more convenient size for portability. Too much size means, for instance, that a person cannot carry one of these known retrievers in a breast pocket without at least being aware of its presence there. Indeed, for many persons, the experience of a bulky golf ball retriever stuffed into a breast pocket is an annoying experience.
Another disadvantage associated with these known retrievers involves their limited interchangeability with various sizes of golf club handles. This negative characteristic of limited interchangeability is also related to these retrievers being fabricated according to fixed dimensions. That is to say, since these known retrievers are fabricated in fixed sizes, they are sized for one particular, or perhaps a small range of, golf club handle diameters. Among the known retrievers, none are believed to have the ability to fit every size of golf club handle across the normal range of handle diameters that are commercially available.
What is needed to overcome these problems is an improved ball retriever that has fold out/fold in capability both for folding to a more compact size for more convenient carrying when not in use, and for folding out the ball retriever for use, while increasing the range of diameters over which the ball retriever can be temporarily fitted.